Based strictly on the seriously skewed evidence of what I have been seeing at open houses over the last few weeks on the Upper West Side, Upper East Side and downtown, I’m going to go out on a limb farther down in this post.

Should this photo have more than one bottom?

Open houses have been busy, and some of the properties already have offers on them, sometimes more than one.

At the same time, asking prices are no longer going down. In fact, many are going up, often on properties listed long ago. My impression is that the prices of larger apartments are climbing faster than others, though most seem to be leaving room for negotiation.

More than one proud resident of the Big Apple has started out by scouring the streets for discarded furniture, lamps and rugs in days not long past. Even some well-to-do folks glommed onto items of considerable value, whether artworks or designer products.

Warning: Do not look at this photo while munching on a croissant. (Photo from Time Out New York)

I was reminded of this phenomenon the other day–truthfully, it was more like two weeks ago–while watching from my first-floor window on Manhattan’s Upper West Side just as my building’s super lugged a table, chair and other furniture to the curb for pickup. Before the table hit the cement, a neatly dressed man and his son claimed ownership by draping themselves over the goods as several passersby cast an envious eye on them.

Amused and concerned–about which more in a moment–I saw him on his cell phone, obviously negotiating transportation. Continue reading →